2009.07.29

On Islam, Politics, and Hidden Pork Stalls

A few weeks ago we sat at a table in a rear corner of Songkhla's morning market, nursing kafe booran ('ancient coffee' - the magic words that just might land you a non-Nescafe caffeinated beverage in Thailand). Halfway into my second glass, as neurons and synapses sprang to life, I focused on the scene in front of me.

A row of pork stalls: ladders of ribs and tenderloins dangling from hooks, pig heads propped on wooden counters, the notched surfaces of butcher blocks made from thick sections of tree trunk littered with odd pink bits. Behind me a butcher used a blowtorch to burn the hairs from a pyramid of pig's feet.

As the (male and female) butchers and Muslim vegetable and sundries sellers worked they bantered back and forth, sometimes vacating their own stalls to hang out at their neighbors' for a few minutes. Muslim shoppers carrying bags spilling leafy greens ambled down the pork row, stopping in front of mounds of snowy fat to chat with the pig meat purveyors.

Nothing special, right? Well...

In Malaysia pork stalls are concealed, hidden away so as not to offend. Most every Malaysian wet market has one, but they're tucked down an alley, segregated behind corrugated metal walls, housed in a separate building, or - in the case of our neighborhood market - located in a far corner of the basement car park.

Many of southern Thailand's - and the majority of Malaysia's - residents are Muslim. So why the pork segregation in the one, but not the other?

For an obvious reason. Maybe.

Thai Muslims may comprise a relatively large portion of the population in southern Thailand, but they are a small minority in the country as a whole. For whatever reasons (and this post isn't about that) Bangkok has refused to recognize this population's language, culture, and Malay ethnicity; it's this non-recognition that's often cited as one of the drivers behind the deadly insurgency that plagues Thailand's south. In southern Thailand Muslims may be numerous, but it's most certainly vegetarian and pork-eating Buddhists (contrary to belief in some quarters, to be a meat-eating - and cooking - Buddhist is not so unusual, at least not in this part of the world) who run the show.

So I suppose you might say that Songkhla's - and southern Thailand's - Muslims (unlike Malaysia's) have had no choice but to accomodate, and that that accomodation is reflected in the market's lay-out: Muslims and pork, cheek by jowl (pun intended). Maybe.

But wait.

In Jakarta's Glodok (Chinatown) pork is also sold right out in the open, pig butchers sharing lane space with Muslim mutton, kuih (sweets), and vegetable sellers. In an alley nearby, Muslim vendors prepare gado gado and rujak to order within whiffing distance of the porky steam that rises from the wok of Chinese Indonesians pan-frying pork dumplings. As in some parts of southern Thailand, it appears to be an easy coexistence.

This certainly is not a case of a Muslim minority forced to accomodate. Far from it. Economic success aside, many Chinese Indonesians feel that they are second-class citizens - a status that was, in fact, codified until recently.

Yesterday I lunched at Yut Kee, an early twentieth-century Hainanese establishment. At a nearby table sat three older Dato types ('Dato' is a Malaysian honorific title), two Chinese and a Malay (in Malaysia to be born Malay is - by law - to be born Muslim). While the latter tucked into his lamb chop his companions slurped beef noodles and shared roti babi, fried bread filled with pulled pork. A Malay eating in a non-halal establishment is something you rarely see here, though Malaysians of a certain age tell me that it wasn't such an unusual thing thirty or so years ago.

As a non-Muslim living in Malaysia who's lived and traveled extensively in neighboring countries with sizeable Muslim populations I can't help but draw comparisons. As a former political scientist I can't help but think about politics and politicians (and terrorists and insurgents) and their uses of religion. And as a food writer I can't help but focus on, well, food - and reflect on the way that, in southern Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia politics and religion and the ways in which they influence each other are played out at the market, in restaurants, at table, on the plate.

I've been pondering all this for a few years, actually, but more so recently as I've been working on a couple of projects - one that's partly about food as an expression (or not) of identity, and another about Muslim self-expression in Malaysia and Indonesia.

I haven't yet come to any great understanding. I'm throwing this out here to see what bounces back. I'd love to hear from anyone with something to say; leave a comment or send me an email.

A final thought that springs from a snippet I read a few months ago, can't remember exactly where.

The author wrote that in Malaya a few decades before Merdeka (independence), to be Muslim wasn't akin to making a political statement. It was during that era - centuries ago - that Chinese traders / immigrants to what is now peninsular Malaysia and Singapore married local (ie Malay, Indian, and Thai) women, giving birth to Peranakan (Baba Nyonya) culture and its exquisite fusion cuisine.

That, I think, is one culinary revolution that could not happen today. At least not in Malaysia.

Note: When I first published this post, a couple of hours ago, it wore a more benign title: On Hidden Pork Stalls. What I'd originally typed were the words that the title line now bears; I changed themright before publishing. Now it's back the way I thought, at the outset, that it should be. Hm. Why did I 'dumb down' my title in the first place? Not quite sure, really.

Note: Thanks everyone for your comments (a record, in fact), and keep them coming! When you add yours it will not appear on the post page, but on a subsequent comments page. To view your comment after you've added it click on the two small orange arrows at the very bottom of the page - this will take you to subsequent comment pages.

Comments

As a Muslim in Malaysia (and a highly liberal one at that i.e. I consume alcohol, eat at non-halal places, have premarital sex, hardly have any muslim friends, and educated abroad ), I am so disappointed in this post, and especially the comments. Not once has any attempt been made to understand the nature of the religion, of the concept of 'iman'.

That aside, I wonder, if in another country it is the law that all blue-eyed persons are shot, should it be the law applicable in all other countries?

I find it so strange and shameful that in this day and age, Muslims and Malays are being attacked even on food blogs. It doesnt matter if a bunch of Muslims (I am not Malay by the way) conduct their ways in a non-Muslim manner. The point is it is a non-Muslim manner. Unfortunately it is a Muslim country, (for those who wish to begin a revolution to change this to a secular state or a state which is not known by its religion, thats another story altogether), and as such, certain measures are taken to preserve the Muslim lifestyle.

I never realised that Malaysia segregates food for the purpose of being disrespectful to other religions or acting insane. I never knew that non-Muslims are so unhappy with the halal eateries even though there are plenty non-halal eateries.

Well, maybe one day Islam will diminish and all Muslims may be persecuted into eating at non-halal eateries. For the greater good right? Seeing how it makes everyone happier.

Nerdy - thanks for your comment, but I suggest you reread the post -- and most of the comments -- without that big chip on your shoulder.

The post does not 'attack' Muslims or Malays, it simply asks why is it one way here in Malaysia and another in Malaysia's neighboring countries, and makes the observation that the beautiful fusion of cultures and religions that resulted in Peranakan cuisine is unlikely to be repeated under current circumstances.

I hoped to provoke discussion with the post, and I did. Unfortunately, despite your self-professed 'liberal'ity you seem to have a problem with people expressing their views.

Neither I nor any of the commenters expressed a wish to 'persecute' Muslims into eating at non-halal eateries but this begs the question -- why before but not now?

It would have been nice if you had added some insight rather than a rant.

The issue here is not moderates vs fundamentalists. Quite frankly everyone is a fundamentalist, being a moderate or fundamentalist is not the issue. American has a gigantic fundamentalist community. They are so fundamentalist, they take a literal interpretation to scripture and separate themselves from the rest of society. They are called Amish. The real issue is what you believe. Whether you call it faith or personal belief, what you believe is supremely important. After 9/11 no one was afraid of the Amish, b/c their beliefs are ones of non violence. The question one has to ask is why throughout the world there is a strain of Islam that eschews civility, plurality and egalitarianism. The US with it's relatively large evangelical Christian population that disapproves of many liberal things show a far greater tolerance than many of these muslim nations. Please hear me, I'm not saying all muslims are terrorists or crazed killers but what I'm saying is what is it about Islam that doesn't allow those who don't follow Islam to live their own way. I get it, Pigs are unclean animals, you won't eat it fine. So what's the big deal is non muslim people eat it? This is where what you believe matters and so it seems there is something inherent to Islam that is intolerant about others.

I refer to the comment posted by Cumi. As a Muslim, we are not only prohibited from eating pork and alcoholic drinks but anything of its variance. I feel sad that true Muslim have done very little to spread the true examples of Muslim way of life and let many of non-Muslim friends took what they see on the street as the correct way of life. Eating food without pork in a non Halal eateries is absolutely wrong as the kitchen utensils or the woks used may have been used to cook the food with pork or alcohol/wine/rum etc.
I believed that there are many ways that food can unite us all instead of selling non Halal food next to each other or Muslim eating out in a non Halal eateries as being 'open' and 'united'. Why must the Muslim who have to sacrifice their beliefs? Why don't we promote food which all of us (muslim and non muslim) can eat? Halal food unite us all. Now who's segregating us all? Pork and alcohol (and Non Halal food) I guess?
I hope you guys discuss this matter while referring to some valid muslim organization or individuals instead of telling us (Muslim) on what should/should not do.

Neither I, nor most of the commenters, are trying to tell Muslims what they should or should not do. If you read carefully, you'll find that most comments by Malaysians are expressing a certain sadness a the current situation (compared to decades before).

As for what sort of behavior defines a 'true' Muslim, I'll leave that for you to argue with your fellow believers. But I really wonder if the Prophet would condemn an otherwise good Malaysian Muslim who, on occasion, chooses to break bread with fellow Malaysians in a Chinese coffee shop.

I think in Indonesia selling pork not a problem as long as you declare that as pork, almost every big cities have chinatown and you can find it there. Also remember some area in Indonesia is not moslem majority (Bali, Medan, Manado, Singkawang etc) you can find food that make from pork or dog meat easily in that area.

In a lot of cities not only chinese that sell and consume pork, other like Batak, Toraja, Manado also consume it there a place that sell it even in city that moslem majority and outside chinatown.

Problem came when seller say they sell halal food (or not declare it, people will think they make it from halal meat) but they mix it or even using all non halal meat (boar, rat etc) for cheaper cost. For this same reason cheaper cost, seller can use halal (beef, chicken) but not halal anymore because death before slaughter for chicken we called it tiren (mati kemaren, death yesterday).

Also another seller can make gossip that other seller using non halal meat (usually dog, pork and rat) to make the other seller bankrupt. For me if the gossip say dog or pork is ridiculous because dog and pork meat is more pricey here :D